The magneto-inductively actuated safety light arose from the need for protecting bicyclists, especially nocturnally and in heavy traffic areas, which is of paramount concern and led to the herein described invention. Other devices such as reflectors, running lights, and oscillator driven flashers are available. A flashing light attracts more attention than a steady light and one that flashes in accord with bicycle motion will provide better information to approaching vehicles or pedestrians.
The principle of operation of the below described devices is the generation of a contact closure produced by the proximity of a magnet to a "reed switch". A magnet attached to a moving member allows contact-free operation, providing the required magnetic flux to actuate a reed switch without impediment to the motion itself. In its simplest form, the contact closure completes a circuit which provides the requisite current flow through warning lights. With the magnet(s) attached to spokes on a bicycle wheel and properly aligned with the reed switch, contact closure only occurs whenever the magnet moves past the reed switch during its path of travel. With only one magnet attached to a bicycle wheel, the closure would occur once per revolution of the wheel. Switch actuation is both independent of wheel direction or the direction of the magnetic field. Multiple magnets mounted at the same radial distance and angularly displaced from each other would generate multiple switch closures for each revolution of the wheel.